


It's All Clear Now

by SpiderButler



Series: Leading Me Back To You [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 02:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4860446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiderButler/pseuds/SpiderButler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Killian Jones will protect Emma Swan, even if it's the last thing he does.</p>
<p>Missing scene from Leading Me Back To You</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's All Clear Now

Killian’s heartbeat pounds in his ears and his breath is fast and shallow. He leans against the wall, trying to calm his breathing, eyes closed, focused. Forcing his puffs to slow, he lets one long breath out through tight lips. He opens his eyes and looks to his right. Pressed against the wall on the other side of the street, Emma Swan meets his gaze. Her chest moves at the same rate as his, and her stance mirrors his, pushing herself as far back into the wall as possible. The earpiece he’s wearing crackles to life, and he assumes from Emma’s small start, so does hers.

“There’s two guards coming up through the street between you. There are four more, two each on the other sides of the buildings.” Graham’s voice says. After his injury he had limited movement in his legs, and he was (unwillingly) confined to the control room. 

“So what you’re saying,” Killian hears Emma’s voice, and sees her lips moving across the street. “Is that we’re surrounded.” Her eyes meet Killian’s and they’re unreadable. 

Graham’s voice is distracted, and the pauses between his words imply he’s doing something complex in the control room. “Don’t…move…hold on one…second…” 

Suddenly the sounds of gunfire fill the air from the street to the left of Killian’s position. “That’s Snow, August and Mulan. The other are guards are headed over there now. On my count run to that street- two blocks to your left- you might be able to take them down and get out before the rest of them find you. One…two… _three!_ ” Emma runs across the street towards him, and Killian grabs his gun, already heading towards the fight. They round the corner, and quickly join the other three, firing blindly. 

After a minute, Emma stops, and holds up her hand to signal a ceasefire. There are no return shots now, and Emma quickly grabs Killian’s arm and Snow’s hand, and pulls them away from the street, Mulan and August on their heals. Emma presses a finger to her earpiece. 

“Six down. What next?” 

“You need to get away from the street. Go west and keep going until you find Will and Regina.” 

The five set off, quickly checking the streets for guards before crossing. No words are exchanged, only simple hand gestures to sign that its safe, or to wait. They meet two figures a few blocks away, and Regina turns when she hears them, her red lipstick still somehow perfectly intact. Will hurries to join them, and they quickly trade recounts. It seems that Emma, Killian, Snow, Mulan and August managed to distract most of the guards on patrol, but now they’re aware of their presence they’re on high alert, and almost the entirety of the Governor’s troops are on the streets, looking for them. 

“I just spoke to Jefferson,” Will says. “He and the others are trying to get to us, and Robin’s on his way with back up.” 

Emma nods. “How many?” 

“No idea- he said they didn’t want to say anything to specific in case we were being hacked.” 

Emma nods again, and looks over to August, who’s muttering into his earpiece, his face deeply concentrated. After a moment he returns to the group. “The control room has a visual on us. Back up should be here in about five minutes, and Graham says get to the city gates as soon as possible.” 

Graham’s voice is aimed at all of them now. “Alright, first things first; avoid main streets, there are guards posted all along them. If you can get off the ground, onto the roofs or something that would be great, but I can’t see any way for you to do that at the moment- I’ll keep you updated. Avoid the street you were just on at all costs- it’s swarming with guards. I’ll tell you what to avoid.” 

“Ok.” Emma’s eyes flick between the groups faces. “I say we skip two blocks that way, and follow the smaller streets towards the city wall. We can follow it to the gates.” There’s a murmur of agreement, and Emma leads the group around the corner. She and Mulan alternate with Killian and Regina to cover the group as they cross the ends of streets, but they get to the city limits without meeting any guards. Jefferson and his group meet them there, and they trace the wall until they hit the gates, four cars pulling up outside them. The people inside the vehicles file out, and August lets them in. David is the last to climb out the car and walk through the gates, and Emma grabs him, hands fisted in his shirt. 

“What are you doing here? Where’s Henry?” Her face pales. “You didn’t _bring him_ , did you?” 

David gently untangles her fingers from his shirt, and holds her hands between them as he speaks. “Of course not. He’s in the control room with Graham and the others.” 

“We talked about this David- he needs one of us there at all times. He _can’t_ lose both of us.” 

“Emma,” David squeezes her hands. “My wife and my sister are here. I can’t just sit by and let you two be put in danger. I can’t lose both of you and know that I hadn’t even been there to protect you.” Snow places a soothing hand on her husband’s shoulder, and he takes a deep breath. “I need to be here.” 

Emma hesitates but nods. She softly removes her hands from her older brothers’ and walks towards Neal and Ruby. Killian places a hand on David’s shoulder as they both watch Emma. “You ok, mate?” 

David nods, not tearing his eyes from his sister. “I’m hoping Henry will stop her being stupidly reckless- again.” Killian knows his mind is on the night when they had almost been caught and executed on the spot by some guards whilst on a scout mission. “Maybe Henry will give her something to live for.” 

Killian squeezes the man’s shoulder, and heads towards Emma, who stands alone, Ruby and Neal walking away from her. 

“Everything alright, Swan?” 

Emma turns her gaze on him. “Please make sure my brother doesn’t do anything stupid. Henry needs at least one of us to get out of this alive, and I need to know David isn’t going to try to be some sort of noble Prince Charming and sacrifice himself ‘for the good of the people’.” Her words are sarcastic, but Killian can hear the fear and desperation behind them, and he offers her a small smile. The Swan siblings are so similar in their intense protection of one another. 

“I’ll do my best.” 

She returns his smile, hers even smaller, and she turns her attention to the group of around thirty people that now stand within city limits. Graham’s voice speaks from his earpiece, and Killian’s (as well as each other members of the group’s) eyes flick between the faces of the people around him. _His family._  

“This is it guys. Once you get to the Governor’s palace, find the back entrance. We can disable the security, but it won’t take long for them to realize there’s a breech. Once you’re in, split up. Take out as many guards as you can, but try not to attract too much attention to yourselves. You don’t want to alert any others to your whereabouts. I’ll try to guide you through it as much as possible, but it won’t be easy. The Governor _must stay alive._ If you find him, detain him, but _do not_ harm him.” Killian cracks a small smile at the childish muttering coming from a couple of the people around him. There’s a pause, and when Graham speaks again, his words are full of restrained emotion. “Please, please remember your families today. Some of you have kids, siblings, friends, parents, grandparents. Once you’re in the rest of the troops will be sent in, but until then please, _please_ try to be sensible and safe. Good luck.” 

His voice disappears again, and the group is silent for a moment, looking at each other. 

“If you don’t all make it out of this alive,” Emma says, “I will personally bring you back from the dead and kill you myself.” There’s a small laugh from the group and Emma’s face softens. “Thank you. All of you. You’ve all risked so much to join me and my family, and I hope that after today, you will never have to worry again.” 

The silence is heavy now, no one wanting to break it. After a moment, Emma speaks again. “So, I guess now is as good as ever.” 

With that the group sets off through the streets. It’s hard to keep so many people hidden, so they split up, travelling parallel to each other in groups of around ten, Graham’s voice constantly in their ears guiding them away from danger and towards the centre of the city, to the Governor’s palace. 

“I don’t like how deserted this place is.” Emma says. “It doesn’t seem right.” 

“The city isn’t exactly liberal,” Robin speaks from just ahead of her. “People don’t wonder the streets for fear of the guards.” 

Emma nods, but there’s an anger in her face now, and Killian thinks he understands it. What kind of ruler has laws so strict that people barely leave their houses or jobs for fear of being arrested? 

After a few minutes they reach their goal. The Governor’s palace strikes Killian as ridiculous, covered in gold carvings and large enough to house the entire rebellion three times over, probably with space to spare. 

“Kinda ugly.” Will says, looking unimpressed, one eyebrow raised. 

“If it’s a power show he’s going for, he’s succeeded. Horribly.” Regina agrees. The jokes alleviate the tension that has settled over the group a little, just enough to bring them back into action. 

“Graham,” Emma presses her finger against her earpiece. “Have you got a visual?” 

“We can see you.” Graham’s voice says. “We’re hacking into the system now. Get to the palace gates at the back, and try to avoid any patrols. You’ll have about three minutes to get everyone in and inside the palace before the guards realise something’s wrong.” 

The group keeps close to the palace walls, following them until they find the gates. They stay out of sight of anyone on inside, in case of any patrols, until Graham’s voice returns. “Ok, go go go!” 

There’s a buzzing noise from the security check pad next to the gate, and Emma pushes the gate experimentally. When it swings open freely, she enters the gardens, one hand on her gun in case of a patrol. David follows after her, and Killian after him. They manage to get the last person, Robin, through the gate just before the buzzing stops. Emma and Jefferson wave them forward towards the steps leading up to the door of the palace. They stand on either side of the group, watching for guards, until the entire group is at the door. The other two join them, and David begins to speak, voice sharp and direct. 

“Right, we should split as soon as possible, and keep splitting until we’re in groups of around five. _Do not go lower than three._ Search the entire place for the Governor- once you find him, do not harm him. Alert the rest of the group, and we’ll find you. Don’t harm anyone if you can help it.” There are murmurs of acknowledgement from the rest of the group. “Graham,” David addresses his earpiece. “How are we doing on the guard front?” 

“Most of them are out in the grounds now, trying to work out if an intruder managed to get in during the security breech.” Killian sees Emma roll her eyes and smiles. The entire system around the palace perimeter was down for _three minutes_ , of course someone got in. 

“Ok. We’re going in now.” Emma speaks. “Tell the rest to wait at the city limits until my command.” 

“Got it.” Graham says and his voice disappears again. 

Emma takes one last look at the group before she kicks the door in, gun at the ready. The hallway they enter is empty, and the group file in quickly. Emma, David and Regina quickly divide into three, collecting a group each and split, heading in different directions. Killian follows Emma up the stairs with Will, Ruby, Neal, and Jefferson around him and a few others behind. The palace halls are lavish, covered in portraits of the Governor and various other people Killian doesn’t remember the names of but recognizes as the high and mighty society of the nation. Plush carpets line the floor, and chandeliers hang from the ceiling, lighting the hall despite the daylight pouring in through the large windows. The group splits again at the top of the stairs, half going left, half going right, and Killian follows Emma again. He can’t bring himself to leave her now, with the situation as deadly as it is. They keep going, constantly splitting until it is just Will, Ruby, Emma and Killian. They meet another junction and look at each other. 

“We should split again.” Emma says firmly. 

“You heard your brother,” Ruby says. “No groups lower than three.” 

“I know what David said, but there are four of us and two options and if the Governor is left and we decide to go right, then we’re in here for even longer, which, in turn, is putting us in even more danger. I think we should split, but if you don’t agree with it, we’ll stay together.” Killian knows this consultation would not be an option if David had stayed with Henry at headquarters, but as he is somewhere in the Governor’s palace, Emma is being much more safety conscious, for her little brother’s sake. 

The two women look at Killian and he raises an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me. I think Swan might be right, but if you want to stay together that works too.” 

They all look to Will next, and he shrugs. “I reckon we could take a couple of guards, just us two,” he says to Ruby. “And Swan’s right- it could get us to our target faster.” 

“Ok,” Ruby sighs. “Just… don’t die please.” 

“I’ll do my best,” Emma cracks a smile. 

Ruby squeezes her hand, and then her and Will are off down the left corridor. Emma raises an eyebrow at Killian as if to say ‘shall we?’ and Killian takes his cue, leading the way down the other hall. They walk in silence, listening for anything that could give away the Governor’s location, or any potential threats. Killian jumps when Graham’s voice appears in his ear, and sees his surprise mirrored in Emma’s eyes. 

“You two are near. When you get to the end of the hall turn left. You’ll enter another corridor. At the end is a room. He’s through there, and appears to be alone. The guards are onto you though, and most of the force is entering the palace right now, so be quick.” 

“Ok,” Emma replies. “Send in the others now. Tell them their aim is to distract as many guards as possible, draw them out of the palace and into the grounds if they can.” 

“Got it.” Graham says and their earpieces are silent again. 

Emma’s eyes flicker to Killian’s and he sees the slightest hint of fear in them. “You ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be.” He tries to smile, but this is it. If this goes right, the fighting is over, the rebellion’s won. If this goes wrong, they’re all dead- if they’re lucky. 

They stride down the hall, taking the left and meeting the door faster than Killian is ready for. Music can be heard through the door, trumpets blaring in a pompous way. 

Emma looks at him again, mouthing a countdown. “Three…two…one!” 

They hit the door with their shoulders, breaking through, guns at the ready. The Governor is indeed alone, sat by a window with a tea set on a small table in front of him. He stands at their entrance, knocking over the teapot in his surprise. When his eyes register them, he smiles menacingly and it’s so careful, contains so little shock that Killian is on edge. Have they walked straight into a trap? 

“Ah, what a lovely surprise. Commander Swan and Captain Hook.” The Governor is gleeful, mocking, and Killian feels doubt seep into his mind, but he refuses to let it show on his face.

“Well, I always wanted to see what you did with the place.” Emma shrugs. Her words and manner are joking, but Killian can sense the careful thought that she is putting into what she says. “I should call my friends, who- by the way- are currently storming the palace- you really should work on your security- and tell them to come take a look in here.” 

Her hand is on her earpiece when the Governor draws a pistol from his belt. He aims it straight at Emma’s head and she freezes. _She won’t risk her life now_ , Killian thinks. _Not with Henry alone at headquarters, and half her family somewhere in the palace, lives in danger._

All she needs to do is press the button and let the others know that they’ve found the Governor, and it’s all over. But if she moves, the Governor will shoot. Suddenly everything becomes very clear to Killian. He steps in front of Emma, shielding her from the Governor’s gun. 

“Is she worth your life, pirate?” The Governor sneers, perfectly happy to train his gun on Killian’s head now. 

“I’m willing to find out.” Killian replies. 

“Hook-” 

“Do it, Emma.” His teeth grit as he speaks. 

Emma doesn’t speak again, but he feels her hand press to his back, and then fist in his shirt tightly. His heart is loud in his ears, almost drowning out Emma’s words. “We’ve got him.”

The Governor pulls the trigger, and Killian squeezes his eyes shut. Nothing happens. 

He opens one eye and then the other. The Governor now looks fearful and his hand shakes a little as he pulls the trigger again. There’s a click and nothing else. 

Suddenly Emma begins to laugh, the noise desperate, manic and hysterical. She steps out from behind Killian. “Looks like you forgot to load your gun, Governor.” 

The Governor pulls the trigger again, already lowering the gun, but this time there’s a bang, and Killian feels a prick in his leg, and then suddenly he’s on the floor and his leg is _on fire_. Emma drops to her knees next to him, cursing, and Killian sees blood. _Shit._

At that moment Regina, Robin and Mulan burst through the door, guns aimed at the Governor. Regina keeps hers trained at his head whilst Mulan quickly grabs the Governor’s pistol, which is hanging limply from his hand and Robin cuffs him. David enters the room and Emma looks up at him desperately. Killian’s brain feels cloudy and he wonders why she looks so scared. 

“ _David!”_ Her voice is tense, rough, and David drops to his knees next to her. 

He rips the hem of his shirt, and ties it above the spot on Killian’s leg where the blood seems to be coming from. Killian realizes somewhere in his mind that he can’t feel his leg anymore, and he wonders vaguely about it. His eyes are beginning to droop and he wants to sleep. 

“He’s losing blood quickly,” David’s voice is sharp. Ruby is next to Emma, and she puts a hand on her shoulder. 

“Victor’s already on his way.” 

Emma smiles desperately. “You hear that Killian, you’re going to be just fine. Just stay awake for me, ok?” 

“But I wanna sleep.” Killian’s voice is slurred and he closes his eyes. He feels a slight pain in his cheek and realizes Emma’s slapped him. 

“Hey!” He protests weakly. “That’s not nice.” His eyes drift shut again, and he hears Emma say something like ‘oh for fucks sake’, and then there’s something warm and soft on his lips. The jolt in his heart is enough to wake him up and he realizes Emma Swan ( _EMMA SWAN)_ is kissing him and that alone is enough to keep him aware for as long as she wants. He’ll never sleep again if she’ll just keep kissing him like that, one hand on his cheek, lips soft but firm. He makes a noise of protest when she pulls away, but he recognizes Victor Whale next to her now, and he’s prodding at Killian’s leg, which he still can’t feel. 

“It’s just a through-‘n’-through wound. It will scar, but he will be absolutely fine.” 

Emma lets out a sigh, and it’s the last thing Killian hears before his mind goes dark.

* * *

 Killian wakes up to an irritating beeping, and the quiet buzz of machinery. He opens his eyes, but is blinded by the bright light, and squeezes them closed again. He hears a soft laugh from next to his head and opens his eyes again, this time slowly and carefully. When his eyes adjust, he realizes he’s in the infirmary, and the beeping is his own heartbeat being measured on the machine near his bed. More importantly however, on the other side of his bed, is Emma Swan, standing a little awkwardly, but with a genuine smile on her face. 

“Swan,” he croaks, and makes a face at the pain in his throat. 

“You’ve been out for two days- I’ll get you some water.” She crosses over to the sink in the corner of the room, filling a plastic cup with water and handing it to him when she reaches the bed. He gulps it down, and is happy to find it hurts a little less to speak after. 

“I’ve been out for two days? I though Whale said it was only a through-‘n’-through.” 

“It was, but he said you’d need to rest it for a while whilst it begins to heal, and I couldn’t imagine you having the patience to stay in a wheel chair.” 

“So you had me put in a _synthetic coma_?” Killian asks, but he lets his tone fill with amusement, so she knows he’s not really angry. 

“It was the most convenient solution.” She shrugs, but she’s guarded and Killian realizes she’s keeping her distance. She’s defensive now (after the surprise kiss, and Killian passing out straight after probably did not help), and Killian wouldn’t expect anything less. So, he reaches out a hand and pulls her towards him, not ceasing until his face is a centimeter away from hers. 

“Convenient maybe, but not fun.” With that, he kisses her, cradling her head gently. This kiss is so much better than the one in the Governor’s palace, now Killian’s fully aware and can feel, can feel Emma half lying on him as they kiss, can feel her hands on his chest and cheek, and most importantly, can feel the smile on her face as she returns his kisses.


End file.
